A Light For the Journey
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 CSB
When I was a little girl, I used to listen to a radio program called “Adventures in Odyssey.” It was by far my favorite thing to do each day. As I got older and became a Mama, my children and I now love to spend time together listening to all the many adventures on this same program. We have heard many of the episodes so many times, I’m sure we could all recite the words by heart!
This morning as I was taking my son to school, one particular episode caught my attention as I could feel God tugging on my heart.
Mr. Whittaker, who is one of the main characters in the program, had issued a contest to the kids in his Sunday school class. The challenge was that each kid was to memorize twenty-five Bible verses in two weeks. The kids who accepted the challenge and memorized twenty-five Bible verses were awarded a trip to Water World. Most of the kids were excited and accepted the challenge.
However, there was one boy that just didn’t want to put forth the effort at first. See, the prize wasn’t announced until half-way through the contest. It wasn’t until the boy heard that the prize was a trip to water world that he decided to accept the challenge.
Finally, the last day of the challenge came as all the kids gathered with Mr. Whittaker in their Sunday School class. As the class started, Mr. Whittaker began to explain his reasoning for issuing the challenge of memorizing all those Bible verses. His reason was he wanted the children to arm themselves with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, so that they would know the truth when faced with life’s circumstances.
Friend, that is when God started tugging on my heart.
See, life’s situations and circumstances are going to come knocking on our door, as well as on our children’s door.
Temptations. Disagreements. Fear. Anxiety. Depression. Death. Sickness. Abandonment. Loss. Spiritual Warfare. Persecution. And many, many more situations that not only we, as adults, need wisdom and direction to navigate through - our children do as well.
How have I armed myself with God’s word? Are my children armed with God’s Word when they need direction and discernment to know how to handle life’s circumstances?
The answer is: not enough. I have done well giving them my opinion on a matter but what my children need more than anything is what God’s Word says on the matter. God’s word will not fail. The Bible is the best way we can arm ourselves to fight life’s battles. Because dear friend, the battles we face in life are imminent. We need a light for our journey, otherwise we will walk around in darkness and feel defeated.
When we hide God’s word in our hearts, we can lean on His truths to light and direct our paths just like our key verse says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105 Jesus demonstrated this so perfectly in Matthew 4:1-11 when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Jesus used the Word of God to combat the enemy. And Jesus put Satan in his place when Satan tried to twist God’s Word. Friend, Satan is still trying to twist God’s Word to deceive us even today. It’s imperative that we know the truth.
I’ve learned that when God starts tugging on my heart, I really need to listen.
So, friend, let’s encourage and challenge each other to arm ourselves and teach our children to arm themselves with God’s word.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for tugging on my heart this morning. You truly know what I need to fight life’s battles. Help me to dig into your word more and teach my children to do the same. I love you! In Jesus Name, Amen.
Family Challenge:
Have each person in your family (including yourself) memorize five Bible verses (or even more if you want). Think of situations that might arise where each verse would come in handy for giving you and/or your children wisdom and discernment to know what to do in the practical situations we all face.
(Fun Fact: there isn’t a circumstance or situation that we will ever face that isn’t covered in the Bible – seek out the truth – It’s there!)
Tip: I love to write my memorization verses on index cards – I put the index cards in places where I will see them regularly until I have the verse memorized. The more you write out the verse as well will help in memorizing.
I’ll share one of mine:
Scenario: You are about to have a serious conversation with someone you have had a conflict with, and you are nervous and afraid – Memorizing Isaiah 41:13 and reciting it to yourself before the conversation can steady your nerves and calm you down.
(This is just one verse for a scenario like this – see if you can find another verse that you or your children could apply in this situation.)